Tire-chain-attaching device and carrier



TIRE CHAIN ATTAGHING DEVICE AND `CARRIER Filed Jan. 24, 1921 3 Sheets-Sheet l Aug. 28, 1923. 1,456,374

J. P. HART 'MREll CHAIN ATTACHING DEVICE AND CARRIER Filed dan. 24, 1921 :s sheets-sheet 2 l BY f fy f A l AT RNEY Aug. 28, 1923.

J. P. HART TIRE CHAIN ATTACHING DEVICE AND CARRIER Filed tgan. 24', 1921 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Patented `Aug. 28, 1923.

unirse sii-aras;

raras-'r eerie JOHN l. ,EAR'L OF L0?, ANGELES, CALIFORN'IA.

Traunstein-americaine envien Lam) CARRIER.

Application filed. January 24, 1921. Serial No. 439,7663.-

the running gear frame or body offan auto,

mobile or motor vehicle, for supporting tire chains such as are vused'on pneumatic. tires in rainy weather7 whereby the chains may be at all times readily accessible for placement on the tires withfacility andv di`spatch.

The main object of my invention therefore is to provide suitable carrier elements adapted to be attached at convenient points to the running board, fenders, frameor other portions of the body of an automobile or motor vehicle, and adapted to iiiclose the chains when the same. are notin use,` said devices being arranged for feeding the chains tothe wheels of the car as the' wheels are rotated y so that they may be readily attached there#r to for use.

lt will be understood -in this connection that-'the tire chains at Vthe present'tini'e` are placed onfthe tires by'hand, after having been lirst removed from a suitable container and spread upon the kground and` straightened out, whereupon the car -is lmoved in one or the other direction on to the chains and the ends of the chains are hooked togetherlaround the tires. Or, as a substitute for this method'for placing the chains on'tlie tire, they are sometimes hung over the top of the tire and pulled together their ends near the ground by iiifst moving the wheels slightly.

fn all cases however, manual effort is required for placing the tire chains on the tires and as this operation-is always performed in wet weather, and frequently on muddy roads, the operation isl a very undesirable oneqand the operator of the car is subjected to the necessity of soiling his hands and clothes when it becomes necessary to use the chains. Frequently on this account, and because of the great amount of effort necessary to place the chains in posit-ion for use, and the consequent loss of time, the use of the chains is dispensed with and the objects for which the chains are provided is defeated.

' jects It is thereforel another object of my in-y vention to provide means whereby the chains may be conveniently carried in position for use and attached tot-he tire with but little eifort on, the part of the operator, and in a minimum length oftime. I

,A still. further object is to provideV combination with the usual form of tire chains and a suitable housing therefor', of a mechanism withiiisaid housing, including' lead chains attached to the front and rear ends of the usual tire chains for facilitating.

the attachment of the chain to, and thereinoval from, a tire. v e

A further object is to provide a suitable form ofhousingl for the chains, providedV with an extension having arestricted passage formed in aV special and particular ii'ianner, so as to receive and hold the tire' chains slightly apart laterally, and tol prevent a twisting and entangling .of the links Y of the chain. which ordinarily occurs when the chains are carried` infother forms of receptacles such as bags andthe like..l

housing for holding chains of thecliaraeter passages and an enlarged central passage he- A still further object is to provide ina,

. described7 aguidemember having spacedend A cross chains, the longitudinal chains beingy carried in said end passages, and the 'central links of the cross chains *being Vcarried in said central passa ge so as to at all times hold the chains in readiness for use. y

Another obgect Vis to provide means for automatically ive-winding the chains when the same are detachedfrom the tire, togethei.'

with brake means to prevent excessive speed of the winding means'.

will appear as progresses. Y

I have vshown three practical embodiments of my invention in the accompanying drawings, in which:

the description Fig. 1 is a fragmentary'side elevation of an automobile showing my tire chain carriers, and attaching means supported therei on for use at convenient points, the chains being held within the carriers in inoperative position.

Fiff.- 2 is a'fra mentar side elevation'of a rear portion of the same, showing theirst step in the chain attaching operation. p

Fig. 3 is a similar view showing the chain completelyencompassing the wheel inreadi- Other nii-nor obinner lead chain of the attaching mechanism in position orrrestoration lto position withinthe carrier.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view ofi one or the carrier housings, .showingV a fragment ot the chain extended 'from the thereof. Y l

Fig'. 6 is a fragmentary view ot the same, showing` the outer ends or' the inner lead chain held against the mouth of thehousing, when theY chain is completely enclosed therein'.

n Fig. 7 is a similar view guide member the housing,

showing` the chainprojection therefrom;

witn the connecting` hooks and the lead chain suspended 'from the end otthe housing.

Fig. 8 is a plan, partly in section, ot the carrier, showing the mechanism containing,v the winding mechanism thereiH y Fig. 9 is a side elevation et the same. ,Fig l0 is` a sectional elevation el the same-on line 10H10 of 9.

Fig. ll is an end elevation et the housing. F i2 and lare side and plan views ot the chain guide member held in the.

mouth et the housing. Y

Fie. ll is a plan view et a n'iodiued form or device, showing spring,` means for rewindthe same, and a brakeand ratchet mechanism for regulating the operation oi the winding means. Y Y

l5 is'a sectional elevation ot the same on line 15-15.. Y Fig. 16 is Va sectional elevation et the same on line 16 '16'01"' Fig. 1.4-,

Figi? is a side Jr'ragmentary elevation et autoniobile showingv another 'fornirci device embodying' a carrier receptacle extending` the full length and attached to, the lower side oit the running` hoard for housing the chains. Y Y

lt. will be understood that l do not limit uivsel't to the exact term et' construction shown'in the several 'forms of device which l have illustrated in the drawings, and will Adescribe clearlyin the` specification, for lconceive it possible to modify the term and of my mecuanism to suit varying' Y conditions. within the scope of the appended claims,A without depart-ing otmy invention. Y v

I will rst describe the form of device sh .,wn in one to thirteen inclusive, l includes one or more housings H,

from the yspirit ted to he attached at suitable pointspto Y the bodv or 'trame or automobile or mo in close prozrimit;l to the wheels W. sail housing may have lianges l' en the upper sides thereot with holes 2, 2i etc.. therein for receiving bolts 3, 3, etc.,

@E p Y 1,436,374

6. c @n side of the housing has anY extensikml E which inclines downwardly rin a plane substantially tangential to the periphery of the adjacent wheel l/V, and has a rectangular opening` 1' inthe outer end thereoc jor, ie-

ceiving` a guide member G, whichis held in the mouth et the housinff thus rovided b Y e: v 5 means loi one or more screws 8, 8. K y Y This guide niemeer has a pair oit circu` lar passages), 9 near the ends thereof,

which are spaced'to conform te the spacing oi' the longitudinalmembers C1 of the'tire chain,V and an elongated passage ,l0 is also provided between` said circular passages, which is adapted te receive the cross ineinloers C? oit 'the chain, andnarrowslots il., liA

aire provided, and aliord communication be. ytween the passages 9 and 10 and are adapted to receive the end links 15 of said cross chains.- This construction is shown-in Figs. 5, Gand 7;

The ends 5 and@ of the housing har-.fe bosses l2, l2 formed thereon, which provide bearings for a Vtransverse' shaft S, which is concentrically mounted in the housing rela-vY tive to the curved wall 4i, the outer portions of said bosses are recessed at i3 and the ends la et said shaft are hexagonical in forni so as to receive a'suitable wrenchor crank T as shown in Fig. S, by means et which said shai't maybe turned. For this purpose the usual 'wheel nut wrench tormingpart ofV the equipment ot a motor vehicle may be employed, thus eliminatinff the necessity et a special tool for attachingand detachinp` the chains from the tire. l'ithin the housingr H and attached to the shaft ,S by4 means ot a pin i6, l previde'a winding` drum which ias a centra-l hub l? and flanges 12S-i8' slightly spaced apart from the'ends 5 and 6 et the housing. y

A vflat spring;- 19A is provided between nach of the flanges 1S andthe adjacent end el the housing', and has its ends seated in d'2-- pressions 20 termed iu the end of the hers inf whereby the springs may be held wit in fiictional enga-ement with the drum so as to prevent excessive speed thereof during' the unwinding operation. A The chain C which is ot the vusual character is adapted to be attached to andinounted around the hub l? et drum D. The chains C are attached to the winding mechanism by means lill) essere i.

of an inner lead chainL which has its inner links attached to the yhooks '21,v 21 on the drumhub and the outer ends thereof have weighted links L1 attached thereto',`

chain Chas a similar lead chainL2 attached thereto which is' adaptedy to be preliminarily attached to the wheel Nas shownin Fig. 2, at the beginning ofan operation for placing the chain C on the wheel.

It will be readily apparent by reference to Figs. 2, 3, and 4 that when the lead chain L2 is attached to the `wheel lV in the mauner shown, and the car is moved forward, the chain C will be wrapped around the tires of the wheels until the ends ofthe chain are brought together, as shown in Fig. 3, and connected by means of the hooks CAL in the usualmanner, whereupon the lead chain L may be disconnected from the chainY C, as shown in Fig. 4 and rewound upon the drumV D within the `housing H, by means of'the'crank T until the links L1 thereof are brought into contact, with the end of the guide Gr, as shown in Fig. 6.

Thus the chains are quickly and easily placed in position on the wheelsv with a minimum/of effort and ina minimum time,

and the soiling of Vthe handsan'd clothes is in most cases entirely elimina-ted. Y

VJ hen the chains are to be removedv from the wheels, the lead chains L'a-re witlicliiwm from the housing and attached to the ends of the chains C again, after the car'is moved so as to release vthe chains from the wheels and the chain 1s drawn into. the

housing and wound upon the drum Dv byv` the use of the crank T.

Tn the form of devices shownl in Figs. 14, l5 and 16, T provide an auto-matic rewinding mechanism which includes a coil spring 25v attached at its inner end 26 to the hub 17 of drum D, and at its outer end 27 to a pin 23 in thc end 5 of housing H, so that as the chain is released 'fromthe wheel,

during the movement of the car- .the tension of said spring willv cause the drum to rotate Aand rewind the chains thereon.

At the opposite end of said drum, adjacent the end 6 of the housing, I provideV a ratchet R attached to the drum D or shaft;

ually released fromv the ratchet. The

mll'.

ratchetl and f pawl lthus serve to hold the drum agalnstfrotation,when the chain has been withdrawn 'to 'aI ,selected extent, the

drum being releasedfor rotation raisingythelouter end of the vlever 30.

lffalso providev inthe end of the housing, adjacent the wall 6 thereof, a brake band 32 adapted for frictional engagement with narrow drum D!" integrally formed with the drum D andvon'the end thereof adjacent' the 'flange 13.' One end of saidbrake band is stationarily held onthel pin `29 which forms a fulcrumV for the pawl 'P and the other end 33 isattached to the central portion of' a manually bperable lever 34 which Vis pivoted to the housing on a pin 315. The

lever34 projects through the slot 31V into Vthe housing in Aa! dii'erentlplane from the lever 30 andk isfadapted to be raised for 'causing frictional Contact between the band 32 and drum vD. A lug or pin'36 is pro-y vided ony the llever 34 for engagement with the ycentral'portion of'lever 30 softhat it will be impossible to release the `pawl l) from ratchet R without simultaneously raising the lever 34 and thus applying the brake band 32 to the drum'D. `f

This automatic feature preventsV an excessive speed'of the drum, D, due to-thetension of the spring 25 whenthe .pawl is released,- ei'ther by carelessness or neglect toV operate `the two levers simultaneously.

I may provide means,`assho`wn in Figs 9 and il for holdingthe drum D within the housing H, imm`ovable when thechains arel either withdrawn therefroml or incl'osed therein. This purpose maybe accomplishedby the provision of a lpin4(7)"adapted to be extended through one end, ofthe shaft S and pemianentlyheld `on thelhousng H by 'meansof a chain41`fattached to a lug/l2 on the housing.V

l may provide also yoneor more drain outlets vinthe bottoni lof the housing for preventingV the accumulationv 0f water inthe housing.

Avthird 1form'oi device forV this same purpose isfshown in Fig. 17 and includes an elongated housing HV attached to ,the lower j side of the running 4board B of the vehicle- A, Drums D1 andD? mounted on shafts 36 and -37 respectively, near theends of said housing, .and a horizontalpartition 38 which subdivides the linterior of the housing H into two separate compartments.

The drum D? has two inner lead chains 39 attached theretoy at one end and the usuall 1 tire chain AC at the other end thereof,lsaid chain being extended forwardly of the 'auto-:

chain L2 is. attache'd'and 'adapted to `draw the chain 'C inwardly. and outwardly through inner` leadV chains L makes the said chains the` guide G at the rear end ofthe housing. The manner of attaching and detaehing the chain from the wheel in this form of devicev is the vsame as in the other forms.

A particular feature of my device consists" 'the ends thereof,'an\ii suitable snap hooks,

whereby they may be readily attached to the tire chains C andthe springs'provide a certain amount of resiliency to the connections between the tire chains and the wheels. The provision of the weighted 'links L1 on the always accessible operation.

When "the tire chains are wheeled in the housing on the'druin D the outer lead Vchain L2 is hooked to thelast link of the tire chain and prevents the 'ends of said chains.v from being drawn into the boX. lt is carried in for a chain detaching the housing in this position and is ready for the first step in yanother chain attaching operation. .l/Vhen the tire chains are in position on the. wheels each outerlead chain is detached from the rim of the wheel and laid along andsecured tothe side membersY of the tire ychains, or it may be removed en-vv tirely from tliechains 'and attached to the outer ends ofthe inner Ilead chains and*` VYsupported on the vehicle in alinement with.

drawn to the entrance ofthe housing.

'ln the form of device shown in Fig, .17 it will be apparent that'the tire chains areY not `mounted on the drums, but instead they 'are carried on a double shelf or platform under and extending the full length ofthe running rlhe guide membersV G in this form of device are the saine as thoserin other hoard.

forms, as is'also' the outer `lead chains. lt

willbe apparent that in this form of de Y vice 'the chains 89 on drum B1 will be extended through the upper compartment,`ov er drum B2 and thence through the lower coinn partinent of the housing H, `as the chain is withdrawn from the housing for use.

New, briefly, 'describing v'the operation necessary for attaching va tire chain to a wheel, it is necessary first to remove the stop pin l0 which holds theshatt Sin the carrier housing immovable. One end of the outerY lead chain is then unhooked and extended around the rim of the wheel lW, the ends being thereafter attached to the end link ofthe tire chain C, the car is then moved forward about one-and one-quarter revolu-.

tions ofthe wheel, whereupon the ends of the tire chain are attached together and the Y chains completely into the members.

the movement of thel car.. The tire chains.

now being attached to the wheels, the/inner lead chains are detached therefrom and are wound on the drum D, aftenwhich thel stop *pin e() is replaced so as to prevent further movement of the drum.' This same opera- Vtion isrepeated'for each of the four wheels of a vehicle. Y Y W hen the chains are to be removed from the wheels they are first unceupledv and the are clear of the wheels. The st-op pin LO is then removed fromthe shaft S andthe inner lead chains are withdrawn from the housing and attached to the vinner end of the tire chain, after which the drum l) is rotated for d awing the tire chains and the lead stop pin'is replaced.

' By the use of my device confusion and discomfort to passengers which results while aj search for the chains under the seatsand other places usually inaccesible is obviated and the chains are always in positionfor use` on the car, and not subject to being left in the garage and inavailable for use when 'they are most needed. Furthermore, when the chains are carried in the old way in a y bag 0r other like receptacle, it lisifirst necessary to straighten the chains out before they can be placed on the wheels, this is not necessary in my "device,l as the chains are at all times supported in sueh a manner that 'the Y links thereof may not become entangled with each other. Furthermore, the chains are the wheels.

v Many other benelitswillbe immediately recognized'by'those familiarawith the use Vof tire chains, Vallof which willbe obviousY *trom the consideration of my device, hereinbefore described. .Y

llVhat l claim is: A

l. A tire chain carrier including a housing adapted torotatably hold drum, a guide member held in the entrance to said housing,

and having communication passages for re-r members and restricted passages communieating with said other passages for receiving the endV links of said transverse 3. i'tirechain carrier including a housing housing andthe chain ycar is then driven Vahead until said chains Y ico member for the chain having spaced re-` stricted openings for receiving portions of the chain, and alternating openings of larger size between and on opposite sides of said restricted openings for the purpose described.

5. A tire-chain carriercomprising a' hous-` ing arranged 1for extensibly holding a tire chain and provided with an elongated opening, a slotted guide member detachably held therein, and means Within said housing for moving a tire chain through said guide member, for the purpose described.

6. A tire chain carrier comprising a housing having an entrance through which a chain is adaptedto be moved, a drumrotatably held in said housing for holding said chain, and'means supported on said housing for frictional engagement with and for preventing excessive speed of said drum, as described.

7. A device oi the character described comi prising a housing havingan extensionthereon, a guide member held in said extension, trans-y versely spaced openings through said guide member, a central opening also through said ings affording communication Vbetween said central opening and said spaced openings 'for the purpose described, said housing being arranged for'receiving and holding a tire chain whereby Asaid chain may be fed through the openings in said guide member.

JOHN l). HART.

Witnesses: Y

J. W. SHEELEY, IRENE BREEN.

y'guide member, and relatively narrow open- 

